Botany of Minors and Missouri. 268 
subacuminate, ciliate, scabrous on both sides. Flowers 
solitary, terminal, crowning a peduncle, which is of about half 
an inch in length. Calyx inferior? segments large, ovate, 
subacuminate, erect, persistent, as long as the tube of the 
corol, Corolla blue; border expanding. 
Has. Fields about half a mile west of St. Louis. March. 
Ozs. When I first observed this plant, I supposed it to be 
HZ, patens of Elliott ; but upon a closer examination, I find it 
to be quite distinct. The stem of H. minima is simple: in a 
few specimens, however, I observe a small shoot protruded 
from near the root ; the leaves and the segments of the calyx 
are of a different shade, the latter being much larger. The 
peduncle of H. patens is armed in the middle with two scales, 
which is not the case with H. minima. Mr. Elliott observes, 
moreover, that it is not easy to point out a mark of specific 
distinction between his H. patens, and H. cerulea, of Lin- 
neus. This remark cannot apply to H. minima. I have seen 
whole fields covered with this beautiful little plant, and it is 
uniform in its height, and the other specific characters above 
detailed. The segments of the calyx alone, would sufficient- 
ly distinguish it from H. caerulea Lin. ; and indeed from all 
the other species of this genus. 
Houstonia ceerulea Lin. 
Hag. Prairies in Illinois and Missouri—-common. May. 
My specimens have mostly dichotomous stems. 
Houstonia longifolia Willd. 
Has. Prairies, west of St. Louis.—May. 
Houstonia purpurea Willd. 
Has. In similar situations with the last. May. My spe- 
cimens all have lanceolate leaves, differing, however, in 
breadth. Hence the reason why Linneus and some of his 
correspondents confounded it with H. longifolia. 
Houstonia ciliolata Torrey Fl. 
Has. Woods three miles west of St. Louis. May. 
Ozs. My Missouri specimens of this plant agree remark- 
ably with those which I received from Professor Hadley, of 
the Western Medical College, and which he gathered at 
Niagara Falls. Previous to my having seen Dr. Torrey’s 
description, I had labelled my specimens H, purpurea with 
